


When You're Older

by Furare



Series: Scorpius Malfoy: Undercover [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Dark Comedy, Family, HP: EWE, Homophobia, Humor, Kid Fic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 12:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6907411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Furare/pseuds/Furare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Are we sure there aren't any rules against airing such horribly antiquated views in front of children?"</p><p>In which people are terrible, Draco Malfoy takes the moral high ground, and his son Scorpius realises something awful about the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You're Older

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set about a year after _Enemy Contact_ – which, according to the timeline of the books, makes it 2015. This was unfortunately inspired by a real website I saw recently for a "family and heterosexual friendly"(?!) Bed  & Breakfast. (As a "bonus", said site had a quote from _Martin Luther King_ justifying this "free speech".) The moral is that people are the worst and will continue to be the worst until the end of time if we let them.
> 
> Rated T for homophobia. Sorry this isn't as fluffy as the other stories in this series, but I was pretty angry when I wrote it. With the way the world is, that seems justified.
> 
> Beta-read by my friend Annette, who is not on AO3, but can be found as Miriravan on www.storium.com.

"We don't like people parading their unnatural _lifestyle choices_ around here."

If Scorpius was perfectly honest with himself – and, as his father had taught him that it was best to lie only to _other_ people, he usually was – he hadn't really been paying much attention to the conversation between the adults.  It wasn't their fault, the poor things, but they could be so very boring at times.  If nothing important was happening, it was almost always more fun to tease Lily, conspire with Albus, or listen to James.  This, though?  This was something different.

Even when he didn't know what the words meant, Scorpius was very sensitive to tone, and he knew that the discussion – or argument – had suddenly become very serious.  He nudged Albus and nodded towards the grown-ups, holding a finger to his lips.

They were standing on the other side of the room, talking to the owner of the Muggle hotel they'd come to stay in, a pretty little place in a pretty little village not far from the sea.  (Draco had called it _quaint_ when they'd first arrived, which Scorpius was fairly sure wasn't actually a compliment, but he and Albus had yet to see anything they didn't like.)  But, though he was not quite so interested in spying as he had once been, back when he had nothing else to do and no one to do it with, he still noticed the moment his father's chin came up and Harry's brows came down.

Something wasn't right here, and he knew that Albus could see it too.

But what could it be?  After all, these people were _Muggles_ , which meant that they couldn't know that Harry was a great hero, or that Scorpius' father had been accused of terrible things that he hadn't done, or about the black tattoo that made strangers hate and fear him.  So why did this man want to make trouble for them?  It didn't make sense, and his next words did nothing to clear things up, not for Scorpius – or for Albus, either, judging by the expression on his friend's face.

"This is a _family_ establishment!"  The Muggle probably thought he was speaking quietly and _discreetly_ , but he couldn't have expected that anyone in the public lounge would be as good as Scorpius was at listening to other people's conversations.

The two boys exchanged a brief look, but the argument drew their eyes back towards their fathers, eager to see what they would say to this strange man.

Harry chuckled, or tried to, but it sounded more like the long nails of a house-elf scraping down the side of a metal pan.  "Sorry, does this not look like a family to you?"  He gestured around the room at the four children – Albus and Scorpius quickly pretended that they hadn't been staring intently at the little drama taking place over by the door – and then turned back to face the owner with wide eyes.

"Ooh, Dad's using his _dangerous_ voice," Albus said, in gleeful tones, and Scorpius flashed him half a smile as they settled back down to watch.  It was usually fun to see his parents scold someone who wasn't him, but he had a feeling that, whatever was going on here, it wasn't actually funny at all.  It wasn't Albus' fault that Scorpius was much better at noticing this sort of thing than he was, of course – and maybe only someone who'd lived with Draco Malfoy for nine years would know exactly how upset and angry the man was – but the outcome was unlikely to make a very good joke.

"Bringing children with you doesn't make _this_ " – the hotel owner waved his hands wildly at Harry and Draco, though he was careful not to touch either of them – "any less wrong."

Scorpius was well aware that some men preferred the _company_ (the word his father liked to use, with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks, frequently accompanied by a muttered _you'll understand when you're older_ ) of other men to that of women.  He also knew that some of these men hid such preferences, like Amélie Zabini's father, and pretended that they were interested in women.  If he'd thought about it for more than a few minutes, he probably would've said that this was because they were married and didn't want their wives to know what they were doing.

For the first time in his life, he considered the idea that maybe some people just thought that it was _wrong_ to like other men.  Maybe Mr. Zabini didn't hide his actions because he was cheating on his wife, or _fraternising_ with the staff.  Maybe some people weren't upset about Harry and his father just because they thought a hero and a Death Eater had no business being together.

It was a horrible and senseless thing to _think,_ much less say, but what other meaning could the Muggle's words have?

"What exactly is _wrong_ about it?"  If Harry's voice had been dangerous, Draco's was deadly.  It didn't just threaten pain; it promised it.  Even James and Lily had realised that something was going on now; they'd stopped bickering and were looking over at the adults and whispering to one another.

The Muggle had gone rather red, and the veins on his neck were sticking out.  Scorpius watched in fascination.  Neither Harry nor his father looked like _that_ when they were angry or upset!  "It's bad enough that you're exposing those children to your... _perversion_ , without bringing it into my hotel!  It's not natural, and I won't have it here."

"It said in the brochure that this place was family friendly," Draco remarked to Harry, as if the owner wasn't even there.  Scorpius might have laughed at this, but he was too busy wondering what a _perversion_ was, and why the other man was so angry about it.

"We _are_ family friendly – to real families."  There was an odd sort of stuffiness to the Muggle's voice; it reminded Scorpius of Albus' uncle, the one who worked at the Ministry.  And, much like Uncle Percy, this man didn't seem to know what was good for him, at least when it came to upsetting Scorpius' father – or Harry.

" _Real_ families?"  It seemed suddenly much colder in the lounge, but it was only Harry's voice, which was icy and quite a bit higher than usual.  Scorpius' father put out a hand to touch his arm, as though trying to keep him from doing something he might regret, but the light contact only made the hotel owner narrow his eyes at them.  "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I think he means that one of us ought to be a woman, Harry."  One day, Scorpius would be able to smirk and glare like that.

Harry scowled, then shrugged.  "Well, _you're_ welcome to try it, if you want.  I'm happy with the way I am."

None of this was making the Muggle any happier, of course.  "It's just not _natural_ ," he muttered, but by this time Scorpius was listening so intently that he picked up the words all the same.  "Or _normal_.  Our definition of a _family_ involves a mother and a father."  Which was all very well for those who could have that, but maybe _some_ people's mothers didn't even seem to care that they existed, and _those_ people might prefer to live with their father and his boyfriend.  And... some people, like Harry, were orphans and had to grow up with no parents at all.  Wasn't it better to be raised by two men who loved one another _and_ you?  Why would anyone think otherwise?

"Marriage should be between a man and a woman."  Okay, this Muggle _really_ didn't know what was good for him.

"We've both already done that," Scorpius father snapped back.  "And I don't think either of us cared much for the experience."  He glanced sideways at Harry.  "When _did_ they allow gay marriage, again?"

"In this country?  Two thousand and twelve."  Harry's voice was suddenly so bland that he could've been discussing the weather.  "So, three years ago."

"And they're _still_ having this argument?"   Draco's pale eyebrows had got lost in his equally pale hair.

"Apparently so."

"Hmph."  Scorpius' father leant towards the hotel owner, who tried to back away despite being several inches taller and quite a bit broader.  To the other children, this was just one more proof of a simple fact of life: _you do not cross Mr. Malfoy_.  To Scorpius, whose eyes were suddenly open to this new and terrible world where some people considered Astoria Greengrass Malfoy a more suitable parent for him than Harry, it suggested that there might be some _other_ reason for the Muggle's fear.  "You'd think they'd have learned how to behave better by now."

"That," Harry said, rather frostily, "is unlikely to happen any time soon."

"Are you _sure_ I can't just turn him into a pig and have done with it?"

"Draco."

"You _know_ you'd find it funny."

" _Draco_."

"Fine!"  Scorpius found it hard to tell if his father was angry or not.  "You never let me have any fun."

"Never?"  A smile tugged at the corner of Harry's mouth.  "Are you sure about that?"

"Oh, shut up."  Despite the words, Draco gave a soft laugh.  Scorpius looked from one man to the other, and wondered if this was another _when you're older_ thing.  "If I can't make him look like the pig he is, maybe we should just go.  I don't feel like giving this... _establishment_ any of my money anyway."

"I don't think he wants our money."  Harry almost seemed to be growling.

The owner finally pulled himself together enough to speak.  "It's just not right for people like _you_ to flaunt your... choices in front of _children_."

"It's too late for ours, I suppose."  Scorpius' father raised an eyebrow.  "Are we sure there aren't any rules against airing such horribly antiquated views in front of children?  Because I think this sort of bigotry is probably a lot more harmful to kids than anything Harry and I would ever do to them."

Of course, Scorpius thought.  His father would rather hex himself blind than hurt children, and Harry was a _hero_.

"What do you imagine we're going do to them, anyway?" Harry asked, using his 'dangerous voice' again.  "Teach them that it's okay to be different to what people like _you_ think is right or normal or whatever?  Yeah, that _does_ sound really awful, doesn't it?"  He reached out and squeezed Draco's hand briefly.  "You're right, though; we'd better go before this turns nasty."

"You mean this _isn't_ nasty?" Draco asked, and Scorpius was definitely with his father on this one.

"Nasti _er_ , then."  With a toss of his head, Harry turned on his heel and came over to where the four children were sitting.  None of them were pretending not to watch now.  "We have to leave," he said, and it was obvious that he was trying not to snap at them.  Even Lily, who was seven years old and tired and almost on the brink of tears, knew not to argue or make a scene.  "We'll explain why later."

"When you're older," Scorpius muttered to Albus, and Albus snorted.  Scorpius didn't; he had a sinking feeling that he didn't really _need_ the explanation at all.  He understood well enough already.

* * *

Not quite half an hour later, they had arranged to stay in a lovely little cottage overlooking the sea, and the grown-ups had disappeared into the kitchen "to have a chat".  Albus and Scorpius exchanged a look and went to listen at the door.  Lily and James were not as used to spy work, so they hesitated for a moment before following, but soon all four children were leaning forward and straining their ears.

"...it's so hard to explain, because what _is_ wrong with it, really?"

Scorpius' father treated this with the scorn it deserved.  "It's not difficult, Harry.  Just tell them that people are terrible and hate anyone who's different to them."

"Oh, yes, because I want to scar my kids for life before any of them are even old enough to go to Hogwarts."

"Mm, because no child has ever learned about bullying in the worst way possible while at school."  There was a sharp, dry note to Draco's voice.  "And yes, before you say anything, I _know_ I was one of the bad ones back then.  So trust me; I know what I'm talking about."

"I wasn't going to say anything."  Harry sounded sad.  "We both agreed not to bring up the past..."

"...unless it's a memory that makes both of us happy.  Yeah, I remember."  Draco made a strange noise, somewhere between a hum and a growl.  "I'm sorry."

"For what?"  Harry sighed.  "Anyway, I don't want to tell them that people are terrible.  Because lots of people aren't.  Maybe most of them."

"Such an optimist even now, aren't you, love?"  Scorpius' father gave a soft laugh.  It sounded like he was shaking his head.  There was silence for a moment, and then: "I still wish you hadn't stopped me from cursing that man."

"What good would it have done?"

"It would've made me feel better."

"Hah."  Scorpius could imagine Harry's face creasing with the effort of not laughing out loud.  "I think it's probably best if you don't get in trouble for cursing Muggles, though, whatever the provocation might be."

"Oh.  Right."

"Draco..."

"Sorry, for a moment there I forgot that this isn't the only problem we have."

Harry sighed.  "I'm sorry."

"For what?"  They could hear the smile in Draco's voice, despite the sadness.  Then: "Thanks for looking out for me."

"Well, you know.  I love you."  On hearing this, Albus rolled his eyes and James grinned, but Scorpius couldn't even summon up a smile.  That was what the Muggle had been angry about.  Why he had been so unpleasant to them.  Because of _love_.

"Yeah.  I mean, I know.  I mean..."

"I know what you meant."

There was silence for a few seconds, and then something that sounded like a quiet sob.

Scorpius turned to the other children.  "Okay, I think we should go upstairs for a bit," he said.  No one disagreed, not even James, who would usually argue with anything he or Albus said just for the sake of it.  They all knew better than to make a fuss at such a moment.

Once upstairs, Albus and Scorpius claimed the larger of the three children's bedrooms to share – but, rather than starting to whisper to one another immediately, they sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in his own thoughts.  Eventually, Albus said, "Do you think there are a lot of people like that man?  Are _all_ Muggles like that?"

"I don't think so."  Scorpius was still slightly stunned by the thought of _his father_ crying, for any reason at all.  "I'm sure your Dad wouldn't defend them if they were all terrible people.  I know Gryffindors are stupid, but they're not _that_ stupid."

Albus pretended he was going to hit him and Scorpius ducked as if he thought he meant it, but when he straightened up they were both laughing.  After a couple of minutes of silence, a thought occurred to him.  "You... _do_ know, don't you?  About our fathers?"

"Of course I know."  Albus smirked.  "They don't always wait until they're on the other side of a door to kiss."

"Oh, yeah, I suppose not."  Scorpius shook his head, but he was smiling.  "But, I mean, did your Dad give you a _talk_ about it?"

"Mm.  Well, he said the sort of stuff grown-ups always say to kids.  You know, how some men love women, and some men love men – and some women love women, even.  But that doesn't really explain why that Muggle didn't like it, though.  Dad made it sound so normal."

"I think it _is_ normal."  Scorpius said, with a firm little nod.  "Father doesn't often talk about cursing people, so I reckon what that man was saying must've been really bad.  We shouldn't listen to people like him."

"No."  Albus sat for a moment and stared at his hands.  "It was worse in America, you know.  I didn't know that Dad was... I mean, he was _married_.  To Mum.  So I didn't think that any of it applied to him, or to us.  But I heard things..."

"You're good at hearing things."  Scorpius wasn't really sure what to say, so he fell back on the old Malfoy habit of flattery.  "That's why you're a good spy."

Albus snorted.  "Thanks.  But... yeah, not everything you overhear is good.  They talk about _God_ a lot in America."

"You reckon this God cares whether a man wants to marry a woman or another man?"  Scorpius wasn't entirely sure what Muggles meant by 'God'.  Some wizards did talk about a higher power, but very few of them had any sort of religion beyond that.

"I asked Dad that once.  He said he didn't reckon God cared much about anything people did unless it hurt other people."

"That sounds about right."  Scorpius smiled ever so slightly.  "I wonder if he thought growing up with two fathers would make _us_ like that too.  The Muggle, I mean.”

“Who knows what stupid people think?”

“Why, Albus Potter, that sounded almost _Ravenclaw_ of you!”  Scorpius’ grey eyes danced in delighted mockery, despite the serious tone of the conversation.

“Oh, shut up.”

Scorpius snorted.  “Well, you’re right, anyway.  It wouldn’t matter even if it did; it’s not like Father or your Dad would care.  Even if we did end up _just like them_.”  He grinned at Albus, then reached out to touch his arm.

Albus moved away a little.  “I don’t think it’s a bad thing normally, but you’re like my _brother_.”

Scorpius found this rather touching.  “Yeah, I know.  I was only joking.”  He didn’t even know yet whether he would like boys or girls, or maybe both or neither.  “Sorry.  But hey, maybe we’ll all end up liking girls.  Even Lily.”

“Hah.  You reckon we can tease her about her girlfriends, if she does?”

“Of course we can.  She’s our sister, isn’t she?”

"Yeah.  She is."  Albus smirked at him, and then the smirk became a grin that only got broader and broader the more Scorpius asked what on Earth was so funny.

He never did explain the joke.


End file.
